Feeling 346 DI (lift keel)
Description
The Feeling 346 DI (often called the Kirie Feeling 346 DI, where "DI" stands for Dériveur Intégral or integrated lifting keel) is a popular variant of the Feeling 346 French cruiser-racer, built by Kirie (later Alliaura Marine) from around 1987–1997. Designed by Gilles Vaton and Cadro (Vaton Design), the DI version features a lifting keel (centerboard/daggerboard style) for shallow draft, beaching/drying out, or easier trailering—making it more versatile than the standard fin keel model. The DI keel typically retracts hydraulically or manually into the hull, providing excellent shallow-water access (e.g., for coastal exploration, estuaries, or lakes) while maintaining reasonable upwind performance when down. It's a beamy, relatively light boat with a spacious, bright interior (large coachroof windows, good headroom, and often 3 cabins/6–8 berths in family layouts), lively handling in moderate winds, but it can slam or feel tender in choppy conditions if not reefed early. Popular in Europe (especially France/Med charter fleets) and some private owners.
Construction Details
| Designer | Gilles Vaton |
|---|---|
| Builder | Kirié (FRA) |
| Length | 34.080 ft |
| LOA | 34.080 ft |
| LWL | 28.420 ft |
| Beam | 11.380 ft |
| Displacement | 8818 lb |
| Ballast | 3086 lb |
| Max Draft | 8.200 ft |
| Min Draft | 3.150 ft |
| Year Built | 1987 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 43.21 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 12.70 ft |
| p | 37.20 ft |
| e | 10.70 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43.21 ft | 12.70 ft | 37.20 ft | 10.70 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Feeling 346 DI (lift keel) - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 37.2 ft - (11339 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 10.7 ft - (3261 mm) |
| Leech | * 38.15 ft - (11628 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 38.35 ft - (11689 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 4.5 in - (114 mm) |
| Area | * 204.97 ft² |
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Feeling 346 DI (lift keel) - JIBSAIL
| Luff | * 36.03 ft - (10982 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 16.59 ft - (5057 mm) |
| Leech | * 31.71 ft - (9665 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 114.99 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 14.6 ft - (4450 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 11.98 ° |
| Area | * 263 ft² |
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Feeling 346 DI (lift keel) - GENOA
| Luff | * 42.78 ft - (13039 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 20.32 ft - (6194 mm) |
| Leech | * 40.47 ft - (12335 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150.04 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 19.05 ft - (5806 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4 ° |
| Area | * 407.46 ft² |
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Feeling 346 DI (lift keel) - GENOA
| Luff | 42 ft - (12802 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 19 ft - (5791 mm) |
| Leech | 39.5 ft - (12040 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 139.95 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 17.77 ft - (5416 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4.35 ° |
| Area | * 373.19 ft² |
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Feeling 346 DI (lift keel) - ASYMMETRICAL
| Luff | * 42.78 ft - (13039 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 20.95 ft - (6386 mm) |
| Leech | * 39.36 ft - (11997 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 165 % |
| Area | * 672 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.
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